My goodness how the time has flown as we pass the half way point of 2014! We have two major happenings since our last post!
Trina has a significant update on the July Holiday Bible Club (or vacation Bible School as it is called in the USA):
North Coast Holiday Bible Club 2014
Every year a group of volunteers get together to prepare, plan and participate in the North Coast Holiday Bible Club for kids aged 4 through grade 5 with a different theme each year during the winter school holiday. 2013 was the first year that the kid’s holiday club was run as a community event whereby church members, from not one but many north coast churches, worked together to put on this high energy, fun filled holiday program.
Over the years local business and individuals have shown their dedication and care for our north coast children by assisting with donations of food, signage, flyers, prizes and so much more to help keep the price of this nonprofit program at a minimum year to year.
The annual program theme and supporting materials come from churches in the USA. This year’s program “Bug Zone” was made successful by over 60 volunteers including youth pastors from local churches and members of many other ministries. Teens, parents, grandparents and teachers from local schools volunteered their time during the holidays to help as group leaders and inspire the youngsters.
Three hundred kids arrived each day in anticipation of loads of fun! Each age group participates in game time, song and puppet time, story time, crafts, snacks, and this year, as an added bonus, there was a science lab with the nutty professor where they transformed everyday items into astonishing creations like ‘elephant toothpaste’ and ‘solid, yet liquid’ wacky goo which had the kids laughing out loud. Lucky draw prizes were handed out at the end of each day and no child left without some kind of small gift.
Bubba, the blue faced funny guy, was there again this year and a surprise party was held for him during the closing program on Friday evening where parents got a glimpse into what their kids had been up to during the week.
Over the course of a week 380 different children heard the gospel of Christ. We gave away over 100 bibles to children who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We already have reports of these children sharing with their family and friends what they learned at Holiday Bible Club and in the process being instruments of change in the lives of those they love.
Mark 10:14 -15
“Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. [15] “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Our prayer is that this event will be more and more community transforming and that the blessings from it will continue to grow.
New Car Here, Old one given to Zulu pastor!
We continue to be overwhelmed and thankful for the supernatural way the Lord moved on the Body of Christ to purchase our new car (click here for that story)! We have one final, amazing report to conclude this testimony. We had been offered a decent amount of money by more than one individual for our previous vehicle. However, we knew that the Lord had something far more special in store for the car that had served us so well. Because of the generosity shown in our recent fundraising effort, we were able to refurbish our old vehicle to the point where it could be practically used by one of our closest Zulu leaders in the rural area that they serve.
John and Irene Mkhulisi have never before owned a vehicle. By God’s Grace that has changed and we have finished transferring it into their name. There are areas, very near their house, that require a car to access and we believe this will greatly facilitate their work and lives.
How glorious it is to serve the Lord in Africa! We can not wait to see what God will do next!
